The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Ok, couldn’t tell from your posts. I’m satisfied with where the season ticket numbers are, especially in the higher priced seating. I do agree with most of what you are saying, these things need to happen as soon as possible. I’m not sure we have the staff in place that can make the necessary changes though. That’s a lot of legwork, and it doesn’t feel like our ticketing department has that many people in it.

The annoying part is the diehard fans on different social media platforms pumping up the expectation that we’re just gonna “if you build it, they will come” our way to sellouts. Knowing we’ve drawn no better than 17k-25k in our best years at legion field. The competition we’ll be hosting, as of now, will not have changed.

It’s setting us up to fail. Every time someone is asked where have our fans been and why, with the success we’ve had, have we not drawn better crowds. Some always posts the pic of that first AAMU game, 55% of that crowd was aamu fans or free ticket casual folks. We’ve got to have a level headed, realistic mental approach to this new stadium. Say we are 4-0, then yes, you could expect to come close to a sellout. Anything less, we should probably expect what we were drawing at legion field.

We see little to no marketing for a push to buy season tickets. Maybe there is some, but I don’t watch any channels that show pro sports anymore unless I’m watching a Braves game.

We should be doing set ups at the galleria, mini-malls, the zoo, or alabama adventure. Promoting the sale of season tickets.

So you think the first crowd to see a Blazer game at Protective will mostly never come back? This is a game-changer in every sense of the word. A very large percentage of the first fans from the opener will come back all season and they're going to bring people with them who may have actually been to a "25k in 70k" UAB game. We really can't compare what we have to what we had in any kind of context.

1999 was the first year of D1 I didn’t work on Saturday and I was able to get season tickets. The park board did everything they could to encourage people NOT TO COME back. The first three years or so I had to bring my own soap and toilet paper. Any team other than UAB and I’m not coming back. How many families brought their kids to see a game and experienced that? How many of them expressed their experience with friends who then choose not to attend a game? There was a lot of petty crap that went on back then. We have a chance at a new start in a new facility. They need to make damn sure they are ready for the first game. You only make a first impression once and we can’t afford to screw it up. I’m glad they didn’t rush to get the stadium open for the first game which could easily have ended in a half assed experience.

The only circumstances where I might have a concern, outside of the Liberty game which will be packed, is a super cold/wet game. Bammers would have still packed Bryant-Denny in “USF monsoon” conditions. Don’t think we can count on that. And good weather but a .500 team. We’ll just have to see…

(07-06-2021 09:15 AM)blazr Wrote:  The only circumstances where I might have a concern, outside of the Liberty game which will be packed, is a super cold/wet game. Bammers would have still packed Bryant-Denny in “USF monsoon” conditions. Don’t think we can count on that. And good weather but a .500 team. We’ll just have to see…

I went to a Bama game at Legion Field back the last season they played there. It was a night game against USM. It was a monsoon similar to the USF game (which I attended and sat through that whole miserable game).

The only Bama fans there were sitting under the upper deck. There were not many others there.

I don't want my post to come off as criticizing the department. I think they are doing some fantastic work. So many improvements across the board, some really good people on staff. I just know this market and the rare opportunity requires pulling out all the stops, and that doing things status quo as is typical in college athletics -- not just UAB -- is probably leaving a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity on the table at a crucial time in UAB's history.

You don't get these chances again. Adding 5K additional season ticket holders would be transformative for the finances. Adding 10K would be transformative in ways beyond our current vision. So when I see the numbers, I can objectively say they look pretty good yet are not at a pace to be transformative.

Some things I hope to see:
-- Aggressive call bank. A couple of two-weeks sprints at least.
-- Hit every boy scout troop, every youth league, every church group within a 60-mile radius of Birmingham. There shouldn't be a single organization in Jefferson/Shelby that doesn't get a phone call and email with a proposal for single-game group tickets, and then a follow-up.
-- Hit the BBA and Chamber member lists with corporate proposals. Season, single-game and party pack opportunities
-- Work the major property rental organizations. All these new downtown/Avodale lofts are full of addressable fans looking for events to attend. Pitch them corporate deals to include UAB football tickets as resident perks/move-in value-adds.
-- Tickets NEED to be part of corporate support. We need these seats filled with new fans who can be converted into long-term attendees. We don't just need your dollars -- we need your employees coming to games.
-- Address every season-ticket holder with an opportunity to purchase discounted single-game tickets. A lot of us would buy a block to give friends even if they don't get to sit with us. These are the kind of people who are much more easily converted into regular attendees.
-- Need AD, coaches and others to speak to every possible civic group possible between now and October. And have ticket reps with them!
-- Have an organic media plan to sneak peak pieces of stadium news throughout August.

It would change so much about UAB athletics to consistently average 30K in attendance for football. 35K would be transformative. 40K would make UAB one of the best total G5 athletic departments in the country.

I hope UAB pulls out all the stops,. TV commercial, a website and some social media targeting are great, but let's go big and personal. And then when collecting all this data, use it to re-engage!

(07-06-2021 10:35 AM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  I don't want my post to come off as criticizing the department. I think they are doing some fantastic work. So many improvements across the board, some really good people on staff. I just know this market and the rare opportunity requires pulling out all the stops, and that doing things status quo as is typical in college athletics -- not just UAB -- is probably leaving a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity on the table at a crucial time in UAB's history.

You don't get these chances again. Adding 5K additional season ticket holders would be transformative for the finances. Adding 10K would be transformative in ways beyond our current vision. So when I see the numbers, I can objectively say they look pretty good yet are not at a pace to be transformative.

Some things I hope to see:
-- Aggressive call bank. A couple of two-weeks sprints at least.
-- Hit every boy scout troop, every youth league, every church group within a 60-mile radius of Birmingham. There shouldn't be a single organization in Jefferson/Shelby that doesn't get a phone call and email with a proposal for single-game group tickets, and then a follow-up.
-- Hit the BBA and Chamber member lists with corporate proposals. Season, single-game and party pack opportunities
-- Work the major property rental organizations. All these new downtown/Avodale lofts are full of addressable fans looking for events to attend. Pitch them corporate deals to include UAB football tickets as resident perks/move-in value-adds.
-- Tickets NEED to be part of corporate support. We need these seats filled with new fans who can be converted into long-term attendees. We don't just need your dollars -- we need your employees coming to games.
-- Address every season-ticket holder with an opportunity to purchase discounted single-game tickets. A lot of us would buy a block to give friends even if they don't get to sit with us. These are the kind of people who are much more easily converted into regular attendees.
-- Need AD, coaches and others to speak to every possible civic group possible between now and October. And have ticket reps with them!
-- Have an organic media plan to sneak peak pieces of stadium news throughout August.

It would change so much about UAB athletics to consistently average 30K in attendance for football. 35K would be transformative. 40K would make UAB one of the best total G5 athletic departments in the country.

I hope UAB pulls out all the stops,. TV commercial, a website and some social media targeting are great, but let's go big and personal. And then when collecting all this data, use it to re-engage!

This is a tremendous idea, and I can't imagine wouldn't go a long way in selling more tickets.

https://twitter.com/UAB_FB/status/141246...57249?s=20

Quote:UAB
@UAB_FB
·
44s
Stadium OCTOBER 2 GRAND OPENING Stadium

Over the next month, we will release our single game promotional schedule, beginning today with the Grand Opening vs. Liberty.

Blazer Nation - You won't want to miss the first game at Protective Stadium.

Link symbol: http://bit.ly/UABGrandOpening

This is a good step. I would hope it includes special ticket opportunities for all UAB health care workers.

(07-06-2021 12:57 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  This is a good step. I would hope it includes special ticket opportunities for all UAB health care workers.

UAB should hire you for ticket sales

https://twitter.com/Jhutchens_UAB/status...2133205000

Looks like we may have 100 yds of turf laid today.

Yeah, they must have gotten an early start today.

Field turf looks finished
[attachment=10637]

definitely gonna need some kind of padding on the wall behind the endzone. Not use to having it that close. lol

(07-09-2021 03:31 PM)UABOG85 Wrote:  definitely gonna need some kind of padding on the wall behind the endzone. Not use to having it that close. lol

Wow, you are right. Looks like there's barely enough room to lay out for a pass.

(07-09-2021 03:48 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  

(07-09-2021 03:31 PM)UABOG85 Wrote:  definitely gonna need some kind of padding on the wall behind the endzone. Not use to having it that close. lol

Wow, you are right. Looks like there's barely enough room to lay out for a pass.

Judging by the person standing in the endzone id say there is probably 8 feet or so which is pretty common to most stadiums....our players will just have to get use to not having a mile between the endzone line stands like at legion.
I do like how close the visitors will have to be to our fans....

(07-09-2021 04:05 PM)UABOG85 Wrote:  

(07-09-2021 03:48 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  

(07-09-2021 03:31 PM)UABOG85 Wrote:  definitely gonna need some kind of padding on the wall behind the endzone. Not use to having it that close. lol

Wow, you are right. Looks like there's barely enough room to lay out for a pass.

Judging by the person standing in the endzone id say there is probably 8 feet or so which is pretty common to most stadiums....our players will just have to get use to not having a mile between the endzone line stands like at legion.
I do like how close the visitors will have to be to our fans....

Remember that Legion Field was also a site for SEC championship Track and Field competition (back when it had real grass turf) as well as football. At one time an 8 lane state of the art running surface was around the field and ran under the North end zone stands which is why the stands bridge the running surface as they do.

This extra room was why it was able to accommodate the CFL team - while ut lasted.

(07-09-2021 04:47 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  Remember that Legion Field was also a site for SEC championship Track and Field competition (back when it had real grass turf) as well as football. At one time an 8 lane state of the art running surface was around the field and ran under the North end zone stands which is why the stands bridge the running surface as they do.

This extra room was why it was able to accommodate the CFL team - while ut lasted.